


I Wear Her Face

by bringtheraincomprix (vespidrankka)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: also probably a bit darker than the original, more angstier, she could have been so much more, this has been on my mind for a long time ok i had to write it, vanisher has better powers, vanisher was really a missed opportunity seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2019-01-31 08:09:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12677877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vespidrankka/pseuds/bringtheraincomprix
Summary: Rewrite of the Vanisher storyline with better powers, more Sabrina focus, 200% more angst and no Antibug to crash the party.Mostly because I've been thinking about this forever and watching 'Antibug' still irritates me.





	I Wear Her Face

_“I don’t see anyone!”_

Sabrina stepped out of the Grand Paris, tears stinging at her eyes. She tried to fight back the cold fear that suddenly gripped her heart. Chloe had been her best- her _only_ friend. She had nobody now, and the rest of the class would surely want nothing to do with her after her history as Chloe’s lackey.

_“She must be invisible!”_

Sabrina was used to standing in Chloe’s shadow, but she’d never felt so completely unseen as she did right now. The people walking by certainly didn’t spare her a glance, going about their busy lives without knowing that hers was crumbling right in front of them. Finding a bench, Sabrina sat down and put her head in her hands.

_“As far as I’m concerned, she doesn’t even exist!”_

She still couldn’t quite believe Chloe had so completely severed their friendship. Now who was going to carry Chloe’s bag between lessons? Who would be there to validate her at every turn and agree with every argument she made, no matter how unreasonable it might seem? Who was going to do all of Chloe’s homework now, and make sure she kept her grades up?

_If I wasn’t here, she’d be failing every class._

Sabrina had always taken such quiet pride in that. Chloe might never acknowledge it, but she needed Sabrina. Maybe even more than Sabrina needed her.

But Chloe was all she’d known. It was too late to start again now.

Sabrina tried to convince herself that Chloe just needed a little longer to cool off. Chloe would call her later, they’d talk it out and everything would go back to the way it was. And when that call came, Sabrina would be ready and waiting to take it. However long it took.

She wasn’t sure how long she sat on that bench. Eventually it started to rain, but she stayed until her glasses were covered by raindrops and her sweater was soaked. At last, as she began to shiver with the cold, she stood up and walked defeatedly home.

Changing into dry clothes and spending an evening with her father took a little of the weight off her shoulders, but she kept her phone clenched in her hand the whole time, waiting for the call she felt sure was coming. As she got into bed and there was still nothing, fear began to set in again.

 

In the morning, there was still radio silence from Chloe. That was ok, though; they usually met up at the school anyway, when Chloe arrived in her limousine and passed her bag straight onto Sabrina, who was waiting to open the door for her friend. Obviously Chloe had decided this was a conversation they had to have face to face.

Sabrina was telling herself this as she walked towards the school. She always arrived ten minutes early, so that she could be sure to arrive before Chloe.

None of the other students acknowledged her as she took up her normal position at the bottom of the steps, waiting for the limousine to turn onto the street. Here, in the same routine she’d been following for years, she could almost pretend the events of yesterday hadn’t happened. Chloe would arrive and everything would go back to normal. Their argument would be swept under the rug like all the others.

The elegant car appeared at the end of the street, cruising towards the school. Some of the students backed away as it drew up to the kerb, but Sabrina stayed where she was. As soon as the car stopped, she reached out and opened the door, a smile ready on her face to greet her best friend.

Chloe got out of the limousine. Sabrina closed the door behind her and lingered back a little further than she normally did, but still where Chloe would see her. She waited for Chloe to speak to her, to pass over her bag, to reaffirm their friendship in some way.

But Chloe’s eyes flicked impassively over her, barely focusing on her at all before she turned away sharply and began to march up the steps, sliding her bag onto her arm as the limousine drew away again.

 _She really is going to pretend I don’t exist._ Sabrina unconsciously gripped at the brooch pinned to her sweater, trying to keep her grip on her emotions as her world crashed around her ears. She grasped it so hard that her fingers slipped and she let out a yelp as the pin slipped free and pierced her fingertip.

Breathing hard, but brought back to reality by the pain, Sabrina turned and hurried away from the school. She couldn’t face a whole day sitting next to Chloe while her best friend pretended she wasn’t even there. She just couldn’t.

She found an empty bench a block away from the school and sat down, turning the rose pin over in her fingers. She had the sudden urge to hurl it away, but when she raised her arm she couldn’t make herself do it. This brooch was a symbol of their friendship. Letting it go was like accepting that her one and only friendship was over.

_But it is, isn’t it? She acted like she couldn’t even see you._

For a moment she considered calling her father to come and bring her home, but she shook her head forcefully, chiding herself as the tears began to fall. He would only worry, and he had an important job to do, he couldn’t stay at home with her, no matter how much she wanted one of his comforting hugs right now.

Refixing the pin to her sweater, she got to her feet and began to slowly walk towards home.

She had only taken a few steps when there was a soft fluttering in her ears, followed by a burning pain in her chest where the brooch was fastened, and time slowed almost to a stop. She felt a sensation she could only describe as that of tendrils crawling into her mind, and as they took root she heard a smooth voice begin to speak in her ears.

_“Hello, Vanisher, I am Hawk Moth.”_

So this was what it felt like to be akumatised. Her thoughts were growing foggy, as the strange tendrils tightened their grip, and she found she had lost all control of her body.

_“If your friend wants you to be invisible, that’s exactly what you will be. I will give you the power to strike back at her without ever being seen by anyone… all I ask in return is that you procure for me the Miraculouses of Ladybug and Chat Noir.”_

_No!_ Sabrina knew this was wrong, Hawk Moth would make her a villain, she didn’t want to be a villain…

A voice that wasn’t her own or Hawk Moth’s joined the crowd in her mind. _But you could get revenge on Chloe! Chloe’s always been so ungrateful…_

But she didn’t want to help Hawk Moth get the Miraculouses! Paris needed Ladybug and Chat Noir!

 _But in return Hawk Moth will give you the ability to pay Chloe back for all the years of quiet service, of support, of doing all that **work**_ , _all of which seems to matter so **little** to Chloe…_

But Chloe… was her friend… wasn’t she?

_She was. Now she’s pretending you’re not even there. Would a friend do that?_

Sabrina could feel her resolve weakening. The whispering voice was starting to sound more and more like her own. _Give me control, Sabrina. I will take revenge on Chloe for you._

The voice and her thoughts suddenly began to merge, and Sabrina jolted out of her self-pitying stupor. Her thoughts began to slip away, and she tried frantically to keep hold of them. She didn’t want this, not really! _I am Sabrina Raincomprix. Chloe is my best friend. I don’t want to be an akuma!_ She held her thoughts tight enough to keep them, not tight enough to crush them. She repeated the thought over and over, trying to drown out the whispering voice.

_I am Sabrina Raincomprix. Chloe is my best friend. I don’t want to be an akuma! I am Sabrina Raincomprix. Chloe is my best friend. I don’t want to..._

The tendrils in her mind began to tighten. She felt an irritation in her mind that wasn’t hers, but whether it belonged to the voice or to Hawk Moth she didn’t know. She kept trying to hold on to her thoughts.

_I am Sabrina Raincomprix. Chloe is my friend. I don’t..._

Chloe’s impassive face flashed into her thoughts. She felt a rush of anger. It was getting harder to resist the force which was slowly pulling her thoughts away from her.

_I am Sabrina. Chloe is…_

Another memory flashed into her mind- she was clasping a silver brooch in the shape of a flower in her hands. It meant something to her. She struggled and struggled to grasp the memory, but it slid away from her. The loss was crushing, but she could not remember why.

_I am Sabrina._

Her name. Her identity. She would not lose that. She would not lose that.

_I am Sabrina_

There were some things that could not be taken from her. She was

_Sabrina. Sabrina._

The other voice in her mind giggled. It was now unmistakeably her voice, and Sabrina was a thought, a name, a little pocket in her own mind. But she was Sabrina…. She was Sa… she was…

_“So, what do you think, Vanisher?”_

_I am Vanisher._

Vanisher smiled. _“_ I think Chloe and the heroes will never know what hit them.”

An unpleasant crawling sensation crept across her skin, radiating from the brooch, and the little fraction of her mind she still clung to was torn away, leaving her to fall into darkness.

 

Vanisher gave a self-satisfied little giggle as she vanished and re-vanished her hand, testing out her new powers. Slipping the compact out of her bag, she examined her face. Other akumas were obvious in appearance and objective, but she would not be. Aside from her eyes, which were now a violent shade of purple, she was indistinguishable from Sabrina.

 _“An unfortunate consequence of the akumatisation process,”_ Hawk Moth muttered in her ears. “ _It can never be completely concealed. Now, Vanisher, you must lure Ladybug and Chat Noir out so that you may steal their miraculouses.”_

Vanisher made herself invisible once more and looked back towards the school where she knew Chloe was, but shook her head. There were things she had to do before her presence was detected. Things she wanted no-one but Chloe to see. “In due time, Hawk Moth,” she replied quietly. “I have a few things to take care of first. Leave it to me; I have a plan.”

 

Vanisher called the school first, politely calling in sick. Hawk Moth pressed her, but she pushed back. “I need to avoid detection for as long as possible,” she insisted. “If you let me take my time, I can set up a trap for Ladybug and Chat Noir. If they don’t know I’m even an akuma, I can take their Miraculouses easily. You’ve tried the brash direct attack approach how many times, and how many times has it actually worked?”

Hawk Moth grumbled a little, but went quiet. Satisfied, Vanisher headed for the Grand Paris and made her way up to Chloe’s room. She waited for the housekeeper to go in and clean it up, and snuck in as the door closed. Alone in the room, her first action was to empty Chloe’s expensive makeup collection onto the carpet and bedspread. She used Chloe’s favourite lipstick to scrawl insults and caricatures across the walls and mirrors, and then amused herself for an hour bending and snapping the pins off every single pair of earrings she found in the jewellery box.

The way to hurt Chloe was through her material possessions. Vanisher dug through the jewellery box until she found the bracelet her father had been fired over. She slid it onto her wrist, where it disappeared. She’d save that for when Chloe could bear witness to its destruction.

Right on time, she heard Chloe’s voice growing louder as she marched along the corridor. The lock clicked, Chloe walked in… and screamed, immediately running out of the room screaming for her father. Vanisher watched the butler peer in, bemused then shocked. She stayed very still, waiting as more and more people gathered to look at her handiwork. When she saw a gap, she slipped out of the door, carefully dodging the crowd in the hallway. As she passed Chloe, she couldn’t resist yanking hard on the blonde’s ponytail, stalking away around the corner as Chloe screeched.

She couldn’t do any more while there were so many people around, so she made herself visible again outside the hotel. It was important she was seen now, to dispel any thoughts that she might have been responsible. She went back into the foyer with her head bowed to conceal her eyes, and approached the butler, who was standing in front of the lift doors. “I’m here to see Chloe,” she said quietly.

“Miss Bourgeois is not taking visitors at the moment,” the butler said awkwardly. “There has been an incident. I’ve been told not to let anyone enter or leave the building until we catch the vandal.”

“Oh.” Vanisher tried desperately to hide her smirk. “OK.”

The butler stopped her, putting a hand on her shoulder as she turned away, and gently turned her back to face him. “Are you-” he began, but then he stopped, frowning. “Your eyes… they’re…”

“I’m trying out some coloured contacts,” Vanisher said quickly. She’d prepared the response in case she’d run into her father, but she could use it now. “I have to go.”

The butler still seemed suspicious, but Vanisher pulled away. “I’ll come back later,” she said.

Right then, the lift doors opened and Andre stepped out, one of the hotel guards at his side. “This is ridiculous!” Andre said hotly. “I’ll be having words with the security company. How could the cameras not pick up this thief?”

Of course Chloe had already realised the bracelet was missing. As the mayor left, she followed, listening to his blustering, but it became self-centred very quickly and she ignored him. She walked back out of the hotel, turning around the corner and disappearing again. Then she went straight back into the foyer. The butler was still guarding the lift, so she headed for the stairwell instead. She waited in the corridor until Chloe’s room had been cleaned and Chloe had thrown everyone out.

Chloe had decided that the stress meant she needed the rest of the day off school, as Vanisher had anticipated she would. Chloe was typing on her laptop. Vanisher glanced at the screen. Apparently Chloe was already trying to contact Ladybug to get the heroine on the case.

Vanisher crossed to the dresser and picked up a porcelain ring holder. Looking back over at Chloe, she threw it across the room.

Chloe shrieked, looking at the smashed porcelain on the ground. “Who did that?” she demanded, standing up and spinning around. Vanisher stayed quiet, and after a minute or so, Chloe sat back down, her shoulders tense as she continued to type. In response, Vanisher crossed the room again and slammed the laptop shut on Chloe’s hands.

“Ow!” Chloe wailed, and Vanisher couldn’t hold back her giggle. She snatched up a pen and began to write across the wall. At first Chloe was too busy nursing her hands to notice, but as she heard the gentle rasp of the marker she looked up.

_Having fun, Chloe? I am._

“Who are you?” Chloe demanded.

Vanisher threw the pen at Chloe’s face. Chloe ducked, but Vanisher just laughed anyway, snatching up another pen. _Why don’t we have a look at your clothes, Chloe?_

Throwing the pen again, Vanisher pulled the wardrobe open. She pulled a fancy jacket off the hanger as Chloe watched fearfully. The blonde opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of it.

With strength she didn’t know she had, Vanisher tore the jacket down the middle, ripping off the sleeves for good measure. Chloe whimpered like a kicked puppy as the remnants of the jacket were thrown at her, but she didn’t seem eager to move to fetch help. Vanisher flipped through the full cupboard, selecting the clothes Chloe had paraded in front of her the most- the foreign, super-expensive garments. She ripped a few apart before she arrived at a beautiful silver gown, at which point Chloe screamed, “NO!” and lunged for the gown.

Taken by surprise, Vanisher felt the gown ripped from her hands. Chloe clasped it against her chest. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re not having this,” the blonde snapped.

Vanisher grinned. She’d touched a nerve. It was time to dig it out and decimate it.

By the next morning, she somehow had Chloe convinced she was a mythical creature. Chloe was huddled on her bed with a hairbrush held out in front of her for protection, her eyes wide and glazed with exhaustion. The blonde had called other people into the room multiple times over the night, but had been unable to prove Vanisher’s existence every time, and as soon as they left Vanisher had continued the psychological torment. She had hardly touched Chloe herself aside from pulling on her precious hair, but Chloe’s possessions were in a sorry state.

The silver gown Chloe had been so desperate to save lay on the ground, bearing a large bleach stain and frayed in several places. The bracelet was buckled and bent out of shape. Several other particularly treasured possessions lay scattered around in various states of destruction, while many of Chloe’s clothes and shoes had made trips out of the window or down the lift shaft, and a lot of jewellery had been forced down the drains in the bathroom.

Vanisher stood at the end of the bed and nodded at her handiwork. She had her revenge. Today she would fulfil her end of the bargain. She slipped out of the room and out of the hotel, making her way toward the school. It was time to lure the heroes out of hiding.

Arriving at the school, she took the time to vandalise the girls’ bathroom before the bell rang for class. She debated making herself visible again and pretending everything was normal, but that would make her disappearance later on more notable. She decided against it, and headed for the classroom.

She stood invisibly in the classroom as Chloe flip-flopped between paranoid surveillance of the room and fighting sleep. She heard murmuring as the class began to notice, a few of them bringing up her own absence in whispered conversations. As Chloe slumped onto her desk, Vanisher seized her ponytail and yanked her head back. Chloe yowled, and Vanisher enjoyed watching the blonde attempt to justify herself to Ms. Mendeleiev for a while before finally throwing subtlety to the wind and attacking Chloe with her own bag.

Chloe fled the room, and Vanisher, cackling, sprinted after her, slamming the door behind her. The class had seen enough to report to the Ladyblog, which meant the heroes would soon come to question Chloe. That was what she was counting on.

She followed Chloe’s car back to the hotel. On her way along the street, she saw Chat vault overhead, heading in the same direction. She sped up her steps. She had wanted to reach the hotel first- after all, it was important that she was not notably absent. She could not be right by Chloe as she normally was, but she could be visible in the vicinity so that she was not suspected.

She turned herself visible again before entering the hotel. To her dismay, Ladybug and Chat were already there, talking to an indignant Chloe in the foyer.

Taking a seat a short distance away and taking out her books slowly, Vanisher kept her eyes downcast, hiding them as she listened to Ladybug and Chat quizzing Chloe. _Had Chloe had any arguments with anyone recently? Could she think of anyone who might have a grudge against her?_

 _I can._ But Chloe gave her typical vapid response of “ _Everybody loves me!”_ accompanied by a flick of her long blonde ponytail. Watching, Vanisher was taken by the overwhelming urge to yank on it again, hard, but she took a deep breath and pushed the thought away. After she had obtained the Miraculouses for Hawk Moth, she could pull out Chloe’s precious hair strand by strand, or better yet, just hack that stupid ponytail off with a pair of scissors.

Vanisher couldn’t keep the smirk off her face at the thought, and right then Chat glanced over towards her. Quickly returning her face to her book, Vanisher turned her thoughts to Ladybug’s earrings. _Do I need both, or just one? Would she lose her powers if I only took one?_

Chloe left, and the superheroes lingered in the lobby, discussing the little information they had gained. Ladybug went to speak to the butler, while Chat’s eyes alighted on her. Vanisher tipped her head forwards so that her orange hair fell over her eyes, and kept her head down as she heard him sit down across from her. “So, you’re Chloe’s friend, right?” he asked casually.

“Oh, absolutely!” Vanisher said through gritted teeth, adding a peppy inflection to her tone.

“So do you know anything about this ghost? Know of anyone she’s argued with recently?”

“I heard it attacked her at school today,” Vanisher said carefully. She had a meticulously constructed story ready. “I haven’t spoken to her for a couple of days, so I wouldn’t know about any arguments. I’ve been ill. I’m just here because my dad couldn’t stay home with me today. He’s on duty near here, so he’s going to check in on me every couple of hours.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Chat said. “Shame we can’t fight diseases like we can akumas.”

Carefully, Vanisher snuck a glance at him. He was spinning his belt tail, not really looking at her, clearly frustrated. A red flicker caught Vanisher’s eye. Ladybug, across the room with the butler, suddenly looked over at them and slyly beckoned to Chat.

“Sorry, my lady calls,” Chat said, standing up and padding away from the table. Vanisher glanced at the black ring on his finger. How easy it would be to snatch it from his hand. But not now. She watched the superheroes begin to properly talk to the butler. Slowly, she began packing up her bag again. It was time for her to disappear, before the butler gave her away.

She stood up and walked towards the lift, casually. She stepped into the lift and had just pressed the button for Chloe’s floor when Ladybug turned back to the table and noticed she was gone.

“Hey!” the superheroine shouted, her eyes locking onto Vanisher as the lift doors closed. Vanisher gave her a little smile, lifting her head so that Ladybug caught a flash of her purple eyes as the doors sealed. She pressed the button for the next floor up. If she knew anything about them, the heroes would now be racing to intercept her on Chloe’s floor. She could not still be in the lift when it arrived there.

And if she knew Chloe, she wouldn’t be in her room, but would be spying on the superheroes with the hotel security feed from the security room on the first floor. Which meant that she probably also knew by now that her invisible tormentor was Sabrina. For good measure, though, Vanisher looked up at the glint of the camera in the corner of the elevator and blew a kiss at it as she blinked out of sight.

She heard a muffled shriek from the security room as the doors slid open. She remained silent as she stepped out of the lift and Ladybug and Chat charged past the end of the hallway on her right, headed for Chloe’s floor just as she had expected. She had not, however, reckoned on Chloe bursting out of the security room on her left and yelling after them.

“Ladybug, wait!” Chloe shrilled. “It’s Sabrina, and she’s just stopped the lift on this floor! Where are you going?”

The heroes skidded to a halt and came back around the corner slowly, their eyes narrowed. Vanisher stepped backwards. She could still get back into the lift. They’d never know.

Right as she thought it, the lift doors closed with a ping. Vanisher cursed under her breath, and saw Chat’s ears twitch. He had heard her.

The heroes began to move along the corridor, trapping Vanisher between them and Chloe. Chat extended his baton so that it spanned the corridor, and Ladybug’s yoyo began to spin; there would be no escape past them. She couldn’t get back in the lift without them knowing, so she would just have to slip past Chloe.

“Chloe, spread your arms out!” Chat shouted. “She’s going to have to try to get past you, don’t let her!”

Figuring that they now knew she was there anyway, Vanisher cut her losses and charged at Chloe, knocking her down. She laughed haughtily as she leaped past the blonde, then felt a hand grasp her ankle. Chloe had a hold of her, keeping her from fleeing and melting into the maze of corridors.

“Don’t let go!” Chat shouted as the heroes ran down the corridor towards them.

“Wow, Sabrina,” Chloe sneered as Vanisher struggled to pry her off. “I never thought you’d sink this low. You became an akuma and all you did was be petty and destroy my things out of jealousy? You’re pathetic.”

“That’s not why I did this!” Vanisher hissed. “All those things I did for you and you just turn around and say I don’t exist? _That’s_ low, Chloe. Hawk Moth offered me the chance to pay you back for all those years you just took me for granted, and I’m not losing that chance because of _you!”_

Vanisher brought her other foot down on Chloe’s wrist, and the blonde wailed and let go, whimpering. Vanisher dived to the ground to avoid Ladybug’s yoyo, which whistled by above her, and crawled around the corner before the hero could try again. She ran down the corridor, pausing to open and then slam a door. Then she stood still at the side of the corridor, lying in wait.

Ladybug was the more dangerous adversary. She had to avoid being ensnared by the string of the yoyo. So clearly, she should go for the earrings first. After that she could take Chat’s miraculous at her leisure.

Now, though, Ladybug seemed to be arguing with Chloe. “Why didn’t you tell us about your argument with Sabrina?” the spotted heroine demanded. “She was right there in the lobby! Now she could be anywhere!”

Chloe started to protest, but Ladybug cut her off. “Leave this to us,” Ladybug ordered. “Stay out of the way from now on, ok?”

“Maybe you should leave this to us,” Chat agreed.

Vanisher heard the lift doors open and close. Then Ladybug and Chat slowly came around the corner. Chat had his baton spread across the corridor again.

“So, any plans in mind, milady?” he asked.

“Keep your ears open, kitty,” Ladybug said, scanning the corridor. “She could still be here. We have to lure her out again. At the moment she has no reason to come out and face us when she can hide and catch us by surprise.”

 _Exactly._ They were getting closer. Reaching behind her, Vanisher opened a door and jumped away as Chat’s baton shot towards her. She began to run along the corridor again, darting down the corridors, pulling up the map of every twist and turn that Sabrina had collected in the many years playing in these halls. On the way, she pushed open several doors, opened a lift and hit several buttons, then continued along the corridor. When she could no longer hear the heroes on her trail, she headed for the stairs.

She needed something to distract the heroes’ focus. Waiting to ambush the heroes might get her one Miraculous, but the other hero would quickly be able to capture her. And Ladybug’s Lucky Charm hadn’t even come into play yet. No doubt that would negate the effects of her invisibility somehow.

Well, Ladybug had scolded Chloe for interfering. Maybe it was time to pay Chloe another visit, remind her of her personal stakes in this fight.

 

By the time Vanisher reached the foyer, there were police ringing the doors. There would be no escaping into the street. The foyer was deserted, but before Vanisher could head for the lift a familiar snarky voice came over the loudspeaker.

“Sabrina, this is between me and you. Get up here. I want to be the one to take you down!”

 _“It’s a trap,”_ Hawk Moth suddenly spoke in her ear.

“Maybe not,” Vanisher responded. “I know Ladybug and Chat Noir will have heard that, which means they’ll be heading for Chloe. I just need to be able to sneak up on them, steal Ladybug’s earrings and then escape again quickly. Then I can ambush Chat and take his ring.”

“ _Very well,”_ Hawk Moth said. “ _But be quick about it, Vanisher. My patience is wearing thin.”_ The butterfly in front of her eyes flickered out, leaving a painful sting in her mind as a threat.

Avoiding the lift this time, Vanisher headed for the fire escape stairs to reach Chloe’s room. Sure enough, when she reached the corridor, Ladybug and Chat were back to back outside the door.

“What are you doing?” Chloe suddenly asked, opening the door. “You won’t get her like that. Sabrina’s a pathetic little sheep, but she’s not stupid.”

Ladybug turned around, away from Vanisher, and Vanisher’s heart leapt. She stalked along the corridor, step by step, creeping up behind the spotted heroine as she spoke to Chloe and Chat. Finally, she was close enough to touch the Miraculous; Vanisher held her breath as she reached slowly for the sparkling red jewels.

She was almost touching the earrings when her thumb nudged a lock of Ladybug’s hair; Ladybug didn’t notice, but Chat did; his eyes widened. “Look out, Ladybug!” he yelled, reaching out; Vanisher made a desperate grab for the earrings as Ladybug spun around, her fingers brushing one of them. She felt the powerful magical energy sear her fingertips before she was knocked backwards by Chat’s baton.

She turned to run, but Chat vaulted over her, blocking her escape. She glanced at the lift doors.

“Oh no you don’t!” Chat said as she thought it. “ _Cataclysm!”_  Seconds later the lift had been reduced to an empty shaft and now she was trapped between the fall, Chat and Ladybug, who had begun to spin her yoyo. Looking at Ladybug, Vanisher knew what was coming before she said it.

“You’re not slipping away again, Vanisher! _Lucky Charm!”_

With Hawk Moth shouting crossly in her ears, Vanisher charged at Ladybug as a little pot of glitter materialised in the air. Ladybug shouted in alarm as Vanisher tackled her to the ground and the glitter bounced across the floor. It rolled along until it settled at Chloe’s feet.

Vanisher ignored it, grabbing at Ladybug’s ears again. But she had forgotten Chat. Suddenly his baton was pressed to her throat as he dragged her off Ladybug.

“Throw it at her!” Vanisher heard Ladybug shriek. Seconds later, she felt a prickling sensation on her scalp and hands; looking down, she saw red glitter settling on her clothes, making her visible against the air around her.

She looked up, throwing Chat off, to see Chloe standing over her with the empty pot of glitter, a self-satisfied smirk on her face. “Oh, there you are, Sabrina,” Chloe jabbed. “I didn’t see you there.”

A furious shriek escaped Vanisher, and she lunged at Chloe, pushing her towards the gaping lift shaft. Hawk Moth shouted at her, began to impose pain again, but Vanisher was blind to anything but her anger. She raised her arm to deal a blow to that smug face.

“Where’s the akuma?” Chat shouted to Chloe as Ladybug’s yoyo pulled Vanisher’s arm back and Chloe scrambled away from the pit.

“Try her bag!” Ladybug called, but Chloe shook her head.

“No! It has to be in the brooch!” Chloe pointed to the rose pin sparkling on Vanisher’s chest. “I bought it for her, she loves it!”

Vanisher struggled against the yoyo string, still trying to reach Chloe. She didn’t even realise she had become visible again, letting her purple eyes burn into Chloe.

Chloe’s smirk faltered at Vanisher’s gaze. “I did this,” she said, seemingly to herself.

Chat pulled the pin off Vanisher’s sweater, and immediately Hawk Moth's voice cut off and Vanisher felt the anger rush out of her, leaving only fatigue and sadness behind. She slumped to the floor, dimly hearing a splintering crack and a frantic flapping behind her before blacking out.

Sabrina clawed her way back up into consciousness, her skin prickling again as the tendrils withered away, releasing their grip on her mind. She was surprised to find herself lying on the ground; looking up she saw Chloe’s legs directly in front of her.

“Chloe?” she asked. “What happened?” Then memories of their argument came rushing back. She cringed back in anticipation of Chloe’s response.

“I don’t know what happened with you two,” Chat commented, “but I think you should patch things up so this never happens again.”

“Agreed,” Ladybug said. Their Miraculouses beeped. “We’ve got to go. But Chloe… do consider Chat’s advice. You were a big help today, but it’d be nice if we didn’t need it again.”

When the heroes were gone, Sabrina and Chloe remained silent for a moment before Chloe walked away. Sabrina felt crushed, but then Chloe returned. “Here,” she said, holding something out. “This is yours.”

It was the brooch. Sabrina took it back, and immediately flashes of Vanisher flooded her mind. She teared up. “Chloe, did I…”

“Forget about it,” Chloe said sharply. “Come on, get up, we’re going to find your dad.”

Sabrina got to her feet, still fiddling with the brooch. “But… you said…”

“Like I said,” Chloe said, turning away. “Forget about it.”

Sabrina’s heart swelled. “Thank you, Chloe,” she said quietly.

“Sabrina, come _on!”_ Chloe repeated, turning to face her and meeting her gaze for a moment. “I have things to do today besides stand in a corridor!” She turned away again and began to head for the stairs.

Sabrina fell into step behind her friend. Some things would never change. Chloe passed Sabrina over to Roger in the foyer, and Sabrina turned to smile nervously back at Chloe as her father hurried her away, fretting and cursing Hawk Moth in equal measure. Chloe glanced at her, cracking her aloof exterior for a moment to smile back as she headed back towards the repaired lift. A fraction of a second later, the smile was gone, but Sabrina had still seen it.

As she looked down at the brooch in her hands, memories of Vanisher probed at her mind, threatening to haunt her later, but for now, she held the image of Chloe’s smile in her mind.

Sabrina was Sabrina again, and she was happy.

 


End file.
